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People who smoke marijuana often have the same respiratory problems as cigarette smokers. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. They are also at greater risk of getting lung infections like pneumonia. Marijuana contains some of the same, and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in cigarette smoke. Marijuana Information from Drugs.com
Like tobacco, marijuana contains many chemicals that can hurt the lungs and cause cancer. One marijuana cigarette can cause more damage to the lungs than many tobacco cigarettes because marijuana has more tar in it and is usually smoked without filters. Marijuana's Adverse Effects -- familydoctor.org
Typical Marijuana Side Effects:
Enhanced cancer risk
Decrease in testosterone levels and lower sperm counts for men
Increase in testosterone levels for women and increased risk of infertility
Diminished or extinguished sexual pleasure
Psychological dependence requiring more of the drug to get the same effect
Sleepiness
Difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short-term memory
Reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination, such as driving a car
Increased heart rate
Potential cardiac dangers for those with preexisting heart disease
Bloodshot eyes
Dry mouth and throat
Decreased social inhibitions
Paranoia, hallucinations
Impaired or reduced short-term memory
Impaired or reduced comprehension
Altered motivation and cognition, making the acquisition of new information difficult
Paranoia
Psychological dependence
Impairments in learning and memory, perception, and judgment - difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving, and forming concepts
It sounds real safe. Please, lets put a bunch more of pot smokers on our streets so myself and my kids are *that* much safer. Sounds like a fantastic idea.
Your kids are not any less safe if more people smoke pot...but they would be MORE safe if people switched from Alcohol to pot. It does not cause Hallucinations, that's such BS. The side effects are less than those of many drugs that are legally given out in every pharmacy in the country. It's safer for me to smoke 1 joint every day than it is for me to eat one meal at McDonalds every day...the McDonalds will shorten my life a lot more. Possible Side Effects are just that, possible. Not all users experience the same ones and many people use that you have no idea about. I used to smoke right before I lifted weights because it would steady my nerves and allow me to concentrate better. I was able to bench press 1.5 times my body weight right after smoking and could shoot 80% from the free throw line after smoking when I am only a 65% shooter not high. It enhances my sexual pleasure, so that side effect is off the table.
When it comes down to it, the costs of prohibition outweigh the benefits.
In 2006, ~750,000 people were arrested for simple possession in the US. That's more than all violent crimes combined. The time the officers spent on paperwork to book those users was taken away from solving robberies, murders, rapes and other ACTUAL CRIMES. 750,000 people now live with the stigma that comes from being a "pothead" when many of those are very good citizens who just happen to enjoy the pleasure of marijuana. Think if those 750,000 just paid $10 a month to the Government in taxes on their weed. That's $7,500,000 a month, $90,000,000 a year. Now think that probably only 1/4 pot smokers were actually arrested (I know a lot of pot smokers, none have been arrested in at least 2 years), that would be $360,000,000/yr. Do you honestly think that the billions we spend is worth it when we could take those millions from taxation and apply to education about the negatives of using?
Kids don't smoke cigarettes nearly as much anymore because of the warning labels and the education on the dangers of them. Why wouldn't this work with weed?
So does heroin, cocaine, Meth, mushrooms, Oxycontin, Acid, PCP, Crack..ect ect...our streets and our kids would be so much safer, healthier, successful ect ect.
with your mentality, why not legalize all of these? You seem to have this all or nothing thought process to justify your drug habit. So why should we just not legalize all drugs then?
First, with the potential exception of mushrooms, of all those drugs are far more dangerous/deadly then Marijuana. I want them banned for the same reason I want rat poison banned for human consumption. Secondly you are right about marijuana. It better not to do it then to do it, but if you want to ban Marijuana why not also ban tobacco and alcohol. Do you favor banning those?
Last edited by Randomstudent; 11-25-2008 at 10:54 AM..
So does heroin, cocaine, Meth, mushrooms, Oxycontin, Acid, PCP, Crack..ect ect...our streets and our kids would be so much safer, healthier, successful ect ect.
with your mentality, why not legalize all of these? You seem to have this all or nothing thought process to justify your drug habit. So why should we just not legalize all drugs then?
MY drug habit? You don't know me from a shock of hay - don't wade in and tell me about myself.
This is a two way street here. By your mentality we should make cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, Camaro's and everything that could possibly cause harm illegal.
Maybe, just maybe people don't do a lot of these things because they don't want to. Do you drink like an alcoholic or smoke? there are millions of people who don't drink or smoke because they simply don't want to.
What besides all the murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries, and deeds of maniacal insanity it causes each year?
Drug addicts shoot people (innocent people) for 5 dollars. Your in denial.
Again cite examples and are these marijuana related. I will agree illegal immigrants, and gansters kill each other all the time over Marijuana, but that is entirely because it is illegal and they are fighting over large sums of black market profits and products.
As for what you stated the burden of prove is on you to back up the claims you make with facts. You say it causes these all these things, but you do not give one iota of evidence that they are related to personal consumption of marijuana. Please cite some evidence.
Last edited by Randomstudent; 11-25-2008 at 10:56 AM..
So does heroin, cocaine, Meth, mushrooms, Oxycontin, Acid, PCP, Crack..ect ect...our streets and our kids would be so much safer, healthier, successful ect ect.
with your mentality, why not legalize all of these? You seem to have this all or nothing thought process to justify your drug habit. So why should we just not legalize all drugs then?
Why not? They are already out there and available for anyone who wants them. Why not tax them and regulate them so kids have more difficulty getting them? Prohibition of anything does not work, it just makes it profitable for criminal enterprises.
Plus, Oxycontin IS legal, it's given out at Pharmacies across America. Meth is legally given to kids as Adderall (amphetamine-salts, basically the same as meth), Heroin is dispensed as Codeine and Morphine, and Cocaine is dispensed as Lidocaine.
I guess they will have to act like a mature adult and make the right choice. Make a choice that will better suit their future. Get high or continue their college education. It is a pretty cut and dry choice. If you do this, the consequence is this. I think that is a fantastic 'rule' that enforces responsiblilty over drug use.
And yes, I do fear that medical professionals could be under the influence while on call...so why add one more drug to the legal list? Just because there is one 'drug' (alcohol) that is illegal and dangerous we should legalize more?
And when items that can get you high, make you feel good, distort reality, make you hallucinate,,, become readily available, I can bet my life, there would be a lot more new tokers out there on any given Friday night.
And....about my kids getting it. If I can hinder, in any way,,,getting pot...I will. I will call the cops on them myself if need be...So your ideal on "if they want it they can get it" is out the window...If they want herion, they can get it, if they want a gun, they can get it...so should we make them all legal now because they can get it if they really want to? You must not be a parent.
And you must not be a person who can read or think rationally. Guns are legal, remember the 2nd amendment?
Making you feel good is a bad thing? I'd hate to be you!
How many people are sitting at home on Friday night saying "I wish marijuana were legal so I could do something"? Not many. But there are some people who casually drink that would switch to marijuana, which is far safer than alcohol by every measurement. So how would this hurt?
Quote:
What besides all the murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries, and deeds of maniacal insanity it causes each year?
Drug addicts shoot people (innocent people) for 5 dollars. Your (it's you're)in denial.
First of all, no pothead has ever shot someone for a $5 quantity of weed. That's absolutely moronic to suggest. Do you really believe that "Reefer Madness" crap? Even the DEA denies those connections from marijuana to violence and insanity. You claimed earlier that you smoked it when you were younger...did it make you go insane and kill people/yourself?
If things that make people go insane are outlawed, shouldn't we outlaw the Bible and the Kuran? Many more people have been driven to insanity or murder by their interpretations of those books than from Marijuana.
Again cite examples and are these marijuana related. I will agree illegal immigrants, and gansters kill each other all the time over Marijuana, but that is entirely because it is illegal and they are fighting over large sums of black market profits and products.
As for what you stated the burden of prove is on you to back up the claims you make with facts. You say it causes these all these things, but you do not give one iota of evidence that they are related to personal consumption of marijuana. Please cite some evidence.
And you must not be a person who can read or think rationally. Guns are legal, remember the 2nd amendment?
Making you feel good is a bad thing? I'd hate to be you!
How many people are sitting at home on Friday night saying "I wish marijuana were legal so I could do something"? Not many. But there are some people who casually drink that would switch to marijuana, which is far safer than alcohol by every measurement. So how would this hurt?
First of all, no pothead has ever shot someone for a $5 quantity of weed. That's absolutely moronic to suggest. Do you really believe that "Reefer Madness" crap? Even the DEA denies those connections from marijuana to violence and insanity. You claimed earlier that you smoked it when you were younger...did it make you go insane and kill people/yourself?
If things that make people go insane are outlawed, shouldn't we outlaw the Bible and the Kuran? Many more people have been driven to insanity or murder by their interpretations of those books than from Marijuana.
Lefty Dan...die I touch a nerve with you?
I am sorry,,,people will shoot you for 5 dollars or for your 5 dollar amount of weed. You must have never been to Detroit. Why don't you post a link to where DEA denies connections between weed and violence please. I would love to read them. And yes, I have smoked pot and I just don't like it. It makes me giddy with double vision. I would not be a good driver..I would be down right scarey and not safe. Why don't you post some links to pot and altered mind status.
I have posted legitimate reasons as to why I don't think it should be legal. Yet, you have not listed one. You try to justify getting high because 'alcohol is legal so why not pot' argument. This is not a discussion about the bible or alcohol. So why don't you try to give me a good reason why you feel the way you do instead of the tit for tat conversation going on?
This thread is kind of disheartening with how hard people have swallowed the propaganda of the past 50 - 70 years.
I honestly didn't think people still believed in "gateway drugs".
Let alone such silly things as "well it's legal so my doctor can toke up when on call and put many lives at risk" or "it's legal so a heavy machine operator could be baked and kill a bunch of people" - really?! .......... when was the last time your doctor showed up bombed from booze to perform your emergency surgery? The first thing my buddy did when he went to med school was go on a school sponsored pub crawl. Some doctors drink heavily, but those who are employed know how to keep it off hours. Private industry will still be able to regulate their workforce. I'm not allowed to show up drunk to my job and i'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to show up high.
So what about the children? We must protect the children! - the same children who we feed prescription drugs to at an alarming rate. The same children who currently have easier access to pills and pot than they do alcohol.
Making something illegal doesn't make it difficult to obtain. It just makes it more expensive and makes it so you have to deal with shady people to get it.
Would you rather someone in their 20s go to a store and buy a controlled product from a sales clerk or go to some shady dudes house to purchase. They are going to purchase regardless.
It's more of a culture war than anything else.
In a free society people should be able to make decisions of individual influences within reason. Marijuana use is no less reasonable than alcohol or tobaco. All 3 have their down sides and all 3 exist to give people a buzz. All 3 are going to be consumed regardless of legality and all 3 can have health effects.
So why are we wasting our collective resources, spending millions of dollars to keep an activity illegal, that has a pretty narrow social harm that is already breached? If you did a cost/benefit analysis from the amount spent fighting this "war", the proliferation of "criminals" on public support in the penal system, the creation of a thug ridden black market versus the ability to regulate, to tax, etc this thing is a no brainer
Put emotion aside and just look at it.
There is no way anyone can reconcile keeping pot illegal and alcohol legal.
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They show your orginal post is entirely wrong.
